No, the word itself (“Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. But the Truth it defines, the Deity it names … permeates the whole Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation!

God is One, no doubt about that. Deuteronomy 6:4 boldly proclaims such … “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”

Yet when Creation Week unfolds, we read … “And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:26, notice the three capitalized plural pronouns!

Who can this be other than Almighty God in His Triune Essence? “Us, Our, Our” … words used before a single soul was created!

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

When Jesus taught us to go into all the world and make disciples, win souls, He further instructed us to “baptize” these new believers … “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Is this not Trinitarian Doctrine? (Matthew 28:19-20)

Oh yes, the day Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River … an amazing thing happened! Read with me … “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17 … God the Father speaking from Heaven! God the Son in the water! And God the Holy Spirit descending upon the Saviour! The Trinity … visibly or audibly Present in one moment of time!)

Paul coins a word for our great Heavenly Father … the “Godhead!” (Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9, sure sounds “triune” to me!)

Then I found this verse … “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7, in my King James Bible! Here again is the Trinity! Three in One, the very definition of “Trinity!”

In every area of the Christian life … from salvation to sanctification to glorification … the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit cooperate as One … to bring us to Heaven!

Just a thought, as I said … about the Trinity!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Do you know God in all His Three Persons? Can you consicously enjoy fellowship, communion with the Father, with Jesus the Son, and with the dear Holy Spirit?

Oh, what Joy!

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Recently in one of our “Evening Meditation” (video) Bible Studies … we came across this verse in John, in John’s Gospel.

First, the context. The “Jews” (leaders in Israel who were also nonbelievers in Jesus, in fact, enemies of Jesus) were trying to sow animosity (discord) between John the Baptist and Jesus!

They merely mentioned that they had heard … “Rabbi (addressing John the Baptist), He that was with thee beyond Jordan (Jesus), to Whom thou barest witness, behold, the Same BAPTIZETH, and all men come to Him.” (John 3:26)

This Verse plainly says that Jesus “baptized” people. (Of course these men, not fond of accuracy when it comes to our Lord, might have not had their facts totally straight!)

So John, the writer of the Gospel that bears his name, John the Disciple or Apostle … soon clarifies this action of Jesus, this “baptizing.”

In John 4:1-3 … “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (Though JESUS HIMSELF BAPTIZED NOT, but his disciples), He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.”

So after all … Jesus Himself, in truth, did NOT baptize!

Only His disciples did!

Then, are we looking at a contradiction in Scripture?

No!

Jesus’ enemies said He baptized. And they may have very well heard that somewhere.

Therefore John recorded their words, their malicious and inaccurate words. He had to do this in order to reveal their sinful hearts, the venom in their souls toward Jesus.

Then, a Paragraph later, John clarifies … “Jesus Himself baptized not.”

Explains!

No contradiction, just explication!

What a Book, the Bible!

God inspired, Holy Spirit written, perfect in every way!

Psalm 12:6 says it well … “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

Amen!

Study your Bible, you can rely on its truths!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

By the way, what a disciple of any great Teacher does … that act is performed “in the name of” that Teacher!

When we baptize yet today, we do so “in the Name of the Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Ghost!”

As I preached yesterday in the Revival … twice in fact, I did so “in the name of Jesus,” my Saviour and the Lord who called me to the pulpit, to the ministry!

Wow, what a thought!

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They should not occur, but they do!

Because we disobey instructions such as these …

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

Church divisions most often happen because some member of the assembly gets “power hungry!” Wants to “control” the whole fellowship!

For example … “Diotrephes” … a man who so dictated to his Church group that they even included (or excluded) whomever Diotrephes decided! Including the Disciple, the sweet Apostle John!

3 John verse 9 gives John’s testimony … “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.”

I just received a phone call today from a broken-hearted Pastor who has been forced to resign his Church … apparently due to a power struggle!

Folks, God will allow no man to be “lord” over His heritage, His people! Jesus is Lord, Jesus alone is Lord!

1 Peter 5:2 gives good advice … “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”

Enough should have been said.

But “power” men and women will still exist in our Churches until Jesus comes again. Then … the Lord will judge all our hearts, all who are truly saved. !

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Are you willing to be a submissive Church member? Or must you “rule” the House of God?

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Paul, whom I believe wrote the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, advised us Christians … “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (Hebrews 2:1)

As Believers in Jesus we are constantly learning. HEARING more and more the things of God. Through the Bible, through the Preacher’s Sermons, through our Sunday School Teacher, through the remembering Power of the Holy Spirit!

“To give earnest heed” is a little Greek verb simply meaning “to hold onto” something!

The verb “ought” (spelled “dei” in Greek) is the word most often used to express “necessity, obligation, urgency.”

The verb of failure (letting those truth “slip” from us) is a nautical term. It is “pararrheo” and pictures something valuable “drifting right by” you without you seizing it! (“To glide by!” One man says “to let escape!”)

I personally do not believe one’s soul salvation (eternal life) can be lost, not if it is genuine. But, clearly, other aspects of our spiritual health (knowledge, joy, victory, peace, etc.) can be neglected … to the point of losing them!

Paul is telling us … BE CAREFUL!

Peter would have said it this way … BE DILIGENT!

And all of us should utter … AMEN!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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The Lesson’s Title came to me earlier today as I was reading the little Book of 1st John, the largest Epistle John (the Disciple) wrote.

He also scribed two shorter Epistles, little letters. And in addition to them he penned the Books of John (our fourth Gospel) and Revelation, the New Testament’s Volume about “things to come.”

Let this Line from John “soak” into your heart please …

“If we SAY (our talk) that we have fellowship with him, and WALK in darkness, we lie.” 1st John 1:6

“If we say,” that obviously means our “talk!”

“If we walk in darkness,” that means “living” in such a way that does not coincide with the teaching of our Lord.

The previous verse (1 John 1:5) succinctly says that “God is Light.” And Jesus is God of course!

If we SAY we know Jesus, love Jesus … then we must WALK accordingly!

This key principle resurfaces again and again throughout the whole Bible! (Our walk must match our talk!)

Let Jesus Himself tell us … “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:8

The Old Testament too?

“And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” Ezekiel 33:31

James (our Lord’s Brother) echoes our Theme with these words … “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?” James 2:14, a lot of “saying,” but no “doing!”

Therefore … we have two challenges before us.

One, talk right!

Two, walk right!

Then … a precious promise from an unusual section of Scripture comes to mind … “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9, if the “heart” is right … the “walk” will smoothly blend with the “walk!”

Again … if my walk parallels (agrees with) my talk … looks like God will bless my life! Showing Himself STRONG! There’s no telling all that means. God is Almighty, you remember!

Jesus did not appreciate hypocrites!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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